Chapter 39: Why are you all so useless?

Chapter 39: Why are you all so useless? A fight ensued, and the trio faced twenty men dashing towards them. Ethan launched his ice daggers, swiftly drawing his sword from his space bag. The daggers pierced two men’s throats with precision, while the others reacted in time to dodge. One of them hurled a bolt of electricity at Ethan, but he froze it mid-air. The ice formed into a delicate sculpture, but no one had time to admire it. Silver light shone through the darkness as they fought; the sounds of clashing weapons and exploding powers shattered the eerie silence. Eva weaved through the crowd, her dagger flashing in the dim light. She lunged at a man nearby, but he swiftly conjured a shimmering dome-like shield to block her attack. "Clang!" Eva’s dagger scraped against the shield, sparks flying. Another man attacked her from the side and she swiftly swapped her dagger to her left hand and stabbed him in the throat before the man could react. The one covered by the shield punched forward, aiming for her stomach, but she dodged; her legs swiped under him, causing him to lose his balance, and her dagger pierced his chest—killing him. Julian and Ethan watched her from the corner of their eyes, seeing her skillful actions. Their mind settled slightly before fully focusing on their opponents. Julian’s sword moved with grace, as he cut through the five men surrounding him. He didn’t use his powers, hoping to preserve his strength. Blood splattered on the ground, groans of pain escaping the mouths of their opponents as they died. Some noticed they weren’t their match and turned to flee, but Ethan didn’t give them a chance; he guided his ice daggers, striking the fleeing men through their chests. Eva wiped her daggers; she rolled her shoulders, feeling stiff; she couldn’t wait for the Nectar to clear from her system so she could use her powers. Ethan transformed his ears slightly, his hearing heightened, he could hear beating hearts further away. He concentrated, his face turning pale as he circled the train, picking out hundreds more men. Eva’s gaze accidentally landed on his fur ears, her fingers trembled instinctively, and she moved closer to him. Her fingers brushed his fur ears. "Ah... so soft,’’ she muttered as she pressed gently. A moan slipped Ethan’s mouth, his face flush red from the sensitivity of his ears. This rare sight was hidden by darkness. He pulled away from her touch and shifted his ears back to human form. Julian’s brows raised at both of them, "Ahem...we have something important to do.’’ He called out breaking whatever ambiguous pink bubble surrounding them. Eva sighed with disappointment, she hadn’t rubbed his fluffy ears enough. "There are a hundred men on this train—we need to kill." Ethan’s expression and tone turned serious, as he informed them of his findings. Eva and Julian hummed in acknowledgement. Eva swapped to a sword; fighting close ranged with her daggers was exhausting. "When is the Nectar wearing off?" Eva asked, wiping the blood from her daggers with a cloth. Julian checked the time, "In three hours.’’ Eva sighed and slipped her daggers into her space bag. A hand was pressed against her head and she glanced up to see Julian watching her through his goggles. "If you’re tired, go back to our cabin.’’ Ethan hummed in agreement with Julian’s words. She was injured and wasn’t supposed to be here with them. Ethan made sure to keep her in his line of sight. At the first sign of exhaustion, he’d drag her back—whether she agreed or not. Eva sensed their concerned gaze and nodded awkwardly in response. Their genuine concern felt strange to her—human emotions still felt foreign but she felt her heart soaked in warmth. Since they treat her genuinely she would reciprocate. With those thoughts in her mind, she focused on the task at hand. "Let’s go.’’ At Ethan’s words, they walked forward with their weapons in hand. Every group they encountered, a round of fight ensued, and a clash of weapons echoed through the train. "Bang!" A man was slammed into the iron door, his bones cracking at the force. Shattered human ice sculptures littered the ground. Severed limbs and blood splatter on the ground as Julian’s sword swung forward. They killed their way through the train, the number of their opponents reducing at a fast pace. Their opponents were unskilled and weak, making it easier to deal with them. Eva’s sword dripped with blood, but no blood touched her body; her strikes were clean and effective. Her victims only have a sword thrust In the chest, head or throat—a one-hit kill. They found no survivors, time passed as they fought. The leader was informed by one of his men who was barely able to survive the encounter. "Why are you all so useless? Can’t you even handle three people!" the man barked at the man who brought him the news. With such large numbers, they were having difficulties with only three people. High-level power ability users didn’t cross his mind. City G was a backward city; such high-level powered users wouldn’t stay in a city such as this. That’s why he was confident in the success of this mission. "I will go myself. Useless.’’ He got up from his seat, cursing at the bleeding figure of the messenger. Leaving the control cabin, he moved towards the direction of where the loud fighting sounds were coming from. He was cautious by nature and made sure to activate his powers, turning himself invisible. When he walked over he saw two men and a woman finishing up the last of his men. He was shocked at the skillful movement and fell into doubt, when did such Masters come to City G? Fear crept into his heart; he looked between the three of them and settled on Eva—feeling she was the weakest of the three. Taking her as a hostage would give him the chance to deal with the two men. He crept to the unsuspecting Eva, to use her as hostage. Ethan frowned, his ears twitching as he turned towards the sound, but before he could react. Eva was dragged back by a force, "Drop your weapons or I’ll slit her throat." A cold voice barked orders without anybody in sight. Eva felt an arm wrapped around her throat and her eyes widened in fear. "Ghost!’’ she screamed out, her tone thick with fear. She couldn’t believe a ghost existed in this world, she only read about it in books, you couldn’t even fight them—which was terrifying to her. ’(⁠ ⁠ꈨຶ⁠ ⁠ ̫̮̇⁠ ⁠ꈨຶ⁠ ⁠) Am I going to be dragged to the underworld or become a ghost like them? No, no... I don’t want to. Save me....’ She looked over to Ethan and Julian to save her. She was trembling too much and the man couldn’t help but tighten his grip on her to hold her still.